Several buses carrying thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members from various governorates arrived at Tahrir Square on Tuesday to take part in what activists have labeled a million-person protest against the verdicts in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak and others.
Hundreds of protesters marched around the square, holding banners demanding a retrial for Mubarak, his sons Gamal and Alaa, and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.
Popular committees in charge of securing the square’s entrances disappeared as protesters began to flood the iconic traffic circle. By the afternoon, youths had begun collecting barriers to be set up on Talaat Harb Street leading to Tahrir.
On Saturday, a Cairo criminal court sentenced Mubarak and Adly to life in prison for failing to prevent the murder of pro-democracy protesters during the 18-day revolt that forced Mubarak to step down. The court also exonerated six former senior security officials on the same charges.
Mubarak’s two sons and businessman Hussein Salem were found not guilty of separate financial corruption charges.
The Tuesday demonstration also demanded the application of the military government-approved Political Isolation Law, which would prevent former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq from competing in the presidential runoff on 16 and 17 June.
Protesters called for the formation of a presidential council comprising prominent pro-revolution figures to replace the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces two weeks before the election is set to take place.
Shafiq and Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy both reject the idea, saying the winner of the runoff election will be the legitimate president of the country.
Tahrir Square, which was the axis of the January 2011 uprising, has seen mass protests since the Mubarak trial verdict was issued.
